Monday, October 27, 2014

Apologies once more! Have been missing here (again) for the last few days. :( I was partly busy with the festivities, partly depressed by the story line and partly handicapped, as my computer was out of service. I am still depressed by the story line. But life goes on and here's my take on the trend the show is taking, or, rather, took last week.

The Repenting Emperor

Jalal seeks Salim Chisti's blessings so that he can get sukoon. (And an heir?) Chisti Sahab doesn't let him get off the hook so easily. He tells Jalal that he has to repent for every person he killed in Chittor and only his conscience can tell him when he has atoned completely. Only then can Jalal get sukoon and an heir. To quote him, Salim Chisti tells AkDha that what they lost cannot be returned to them nor can they be compensated for it. But they can get what they seek if Jalal's slate is wiped clean of the Chittor massacre.

JJ agree to live like an ordinary couple at Sikri during this period of penance. (Seemingly 3 years ?, as Javeda's and Bakshi's kids are quite grown up during this time.)

Side Note: History aficionados and those to whom Chittor holds a special place in their hearts still, please bear with me. I am only recounting verbatim what was shown to us. I felt sick too to see Ekta Kapoor turning history on its head and showing Akbar repenting for Chittor and actually going out of his way to rebuild the lives of the people there. The truth, as we all know, is that he actually celebrated his victory at Chittor and sadistically ordered the massacre of some 30,000 peasants in cold blood. Chittor was never rebuilt or repaired or resettled.

How an emperor could stay away from the affairs of the state for so long, leaving Agra in the hands of his ministers like Todarmal and his mother and begums, is beyond me. If I remember correctly, Jalal could not stay away from Agra during the separation track and had returned to Agra alone, leaving Jodha in Amer.

Why is Akbar being justified so much by Ekta? First, he was given the excuse of being emotionally distraught for waging the war. Now he is being shown to repent and take suitable remedial measures.

Jalal's repentance must have been almost over because he is blessed with the good news of Jodha's pregnancy in the Wednesday episode (Oct 22 2014). The entire pregnancy is done away with in just one episode! Why the rush, Ekta?

Jodha was treated roughly in her last pregnancy and this time too, she has not been pampered at all. We have to guess Jalal pampers her from their words to Salim Chisti. Jodha is gifted a new bandi, Shahzad Bano, to take care of her.

Akbar, as we know, didn't see Salim for one month after he was born, due to astrological reasons. Why couldn't Jalal tell the truth to Jodha? Surely, she would have understood that it was best for Akbar not to see Salim for some days? Why did Ekta have to bring in this issue of the woman who was widowed by Jalal, and show Jalal going to Chittor to personally rehabilitate her?

Salim was born in Sikri on Thursday (Diwali), in the absence of Jalal. On Friday, he was home in the palace and with Jalal, his father. So, a small leap of one month again on Friday.

I couldn't understand Jalal telling Jodha now after 3 years that he was with her at all times and she needn't apologize to anyone, after having accepted her apology for Hussein's death. Why was the twins' death raised after so long, esp on a joyous occasion? Why was Jodha made to seek Ruqaiyya's pardon too for being careless enough to kill Hussein and thus rendering Ruqaiyya childless? Why was the Jalal who had promised his support to Jodha just a few minutes back silent, as Jodha sought Ruqaiyya's pardon and Ruqaiyya shed crocodile tears, when he knew Ruqaiyya's reality?

All these leaps and Jodha being made to apologize to all and sundry for no fault of hers and being made to repent for 3 years for Jalal's crimes can be set aside when we see the worst NR till date, second only to the Chittor NR. This relates to the emergence of Ruqaiyya as the tour de force of the show. It's fine she wasn't punished or even exposed. But making her the main lead of the show, while the erstwhile leads, AkDha, danced around her to her tune, is unbelievable.

Ruqaiyya, the Most Powerful Mughal Ever?

Slowly, over the last few episodes, we were informed that Ruqaiyya had got over the tragic demise of Hussein but had 'lost her narmi' and was crueler still, if that is possible. We saw Jalal scold her for indirectly causing the deaths of the twins but he also gave her his word that he would remain her friend forever. The only saving grace was that he refused to hand over Salim to Ruqaiyya.

At that point in time, I really felt very envious of Ruqaiyya. It must mean something to be able to get away with anything, including the death of royal heirs, just because she happened to be the childhood friend of the emperor. Au contraire, Jodha, being an ordinary princess, has to apologize to everyone for not committing any mistake. Is it Jodha's sin if Ruqaiyya's mission to be the MUZ failed?

Ruqaiyya being Ruqaiyya, now thinks that if Jodha has to be the MUZ, then she should only be the MUZ and not the ammijaan too of Salim, the waris. Now she has come up with a new crooked plan according to which she will ensure that Salim regards his mother as only the MUZ but not his mother. She plans to ensure that Salim will regard only Ruqaiyya as his mother. All this to hurt Jodha because Ruqaiyya knows that, for Jodha, the MUZ title holds no relevance but being mother to Salim does.

Ruqaiyya now plans to use Salim to separate JJ, as she feels he was responsible for bringing them together. Doesn't she know that they came together first and, that is why, they were able to produce Salim?

Friday also saw the entry of Anarkali's parents and hinted at the imminent entry of Anarkali herself.

Ekta, how many more NRs are we going to be subjected to? Which research showed you that Anarkali was a historical character? Please share your research with us too.

The worst possible scene for me personally, not taking Chittor into account, was Jodha thrusting Salim into the scheming Ruqaiyya's hands and begging her to accept him and forgive her (Jodha). Why can't Jodha accept that Hussein was poisoned by Zeenat and it was not her fault? Why must Jodha force Salim into Ruqaiyya's hands and call her his true "badi ammijaan"? Why must Jodha insist on Ruqaiyya sharing the joys of motherhood with her?

I have never heard from any quarters so far that Ruqaiyya was involved in raising Salim exclusively. Or that Salim regarded Ruqaiyya as his real mother and called Jodha MUZ. Salim was close to all 3 chief queens of Akbar and quite respected his own mother. He even addressed her as Hazrat.

Just to glorify Ruqaiyya, Ekta is running down both Akbar and Jodha. Jalal looks like a spineless jellyfish in front of Ruqaiyya and Jodha is quite the baby-producing machine for Ruqaiyya to fulfill her ambitions of being the most powerful Mughal ever.

Has anyone ever read that Ruqaiyya was so powerful that she had the run of the empire, her wish was above everything, and even Akbar couldn't say no to her?

Ekta's NR is possibly in the same category as the systematic obliteration of HK's role and place in Mughal history. The latter was done by people who had a deep-rooted prejudice against HK. Why is Ekta doing it? And why is she destroying Jalal's character too, in the process?

28 comments:

One thing baffles me. Why is Ekta trying to destroy the mother son relation which Salim and MUZ had in reality.?. to make Ruqayya so important now..

Jahangir has used such respectful words --> " Hazrat " Mariam Zamani, for his mother, in his memoirs...

And even referred her as --> "My "OWN" KIND mother".His marriage took place in his mother's palace.His solar-weighing ceremonies took place in his mothers palace.There is also mention that, on his birthday, he used to go to his mother's palace..

Jahangir paid obeisance to his mother by touching her feet. He records these instances with a sense of pride.

His reference to his mother was preceded by epithet 'Hazrat', one that is usually reserved for His Majesty himself. These courtesies demonstrate the amount of respect and love he held for his mother, Mariam-uz-Zamani.

A number of royal functions took place in the house of his mother Mariam-uz-zamani like Jahangir's solar weighing, Jahangir's marriage, and his son, Shehzada Parviz's wedding to daughter of Sultan Murad Mirza.

Even after all this, Ekta is introducing a fictional MU between mother and son.. ?

What can I say Abhay? I think, Ekta loves MUs. As long as she showed the AkDHa love story, she showed a series of MUs between them. Now she is showing MU between Salim and his parents. Right from the moment the poor boy was born!

I think Ekta has some problem with accepting happiness and positivity. Some problem that forces her to live in negativity only. :(

Hi Abhay, so glad you are back. I loved what you wrote about Salim and MUZ. I also read another lovely bit of info a lady posted on facebook: that after Akbar's death MUZ went away to Peshawar and Salim went personally to get her back to Agra. Have you head about this? I tried asking the lady who posted this but she has not replied.Also is it true that Salim did not attend his mom's funeral? if yes what could the reason be.Sorry to bombard you with so many questions ...please answer at your convenience

Radhika, Abhay, I think Ekta is in an hurry to finish the serial n start another crap. s:) Otherwise what was the need fr the time leap?The CVs took so much time fr coming together of JO-AK. Now why r they hurrying up, twisting history? May be they hv seen that the discussion on the IForum has been nearly nil.Might hv thought people r losing interest in the story.To make it interesting they want to use popular stories like Anarkali, making too much of a obvious references to the story. I won't be surprised if the story soon goes on to tell the lovestory of Salim- Anarkali.:(.The serial is becoming like any other daily soap, with Ruqaiyy's unending saazish,time-leap,n all 5-p. I hated the way Jodha had to appoligise fr no crime, that too after so many years.Surely, Lovina must be close to the CVs that's why, even after being villain she enjoys so much screen space. How I wish history-geek shud hv made this serial.:)

Zilbahar overhears some people conspiring to kill Prince Salim on his visit to the temple the next day with his parents. She rushes through pouring rain to warn Jalal.

Jalal asks her to show him where the conspirators are hiding. Jalal and his men soon overpower the conspirators and force them to blurt out SD and his father's names as the masterminds behind the plot.

Meanwhile in the palace, Bakshi overhears her husband and father-in-law talking about the same plot. She and SD have an argument over it and he knocks her out.

SD and his father run away through a secret passage.

Jalal arrives to catch SD but finds Bakshi injured and unconscious. He calls for the hakima.

As Bakshi is being taken care of by the hakima, Jalal goes to arrest SD. But apparently he returns empty-handed. He assures Bakshi that she is not to be blamed for her husband's antics.

Jalal and Jodha go to the temple, as planned, the next day. After the temple visit is over, JJ praise Zilbahar profusely for her help in saving Salim's life. Again Jalal not only trusts an outsider but also gives her a blank cheque to ask him anything she wants once.

Lollipop Scene:

Jalal visits Jodha in her hojra and finds her busy with Salim. He then teases her that he has other wives to care for too and so he is going to them. Jodha pouts but is unable to stop him.

Precap:

JJ are worried about Shaguni Bai's prediction that Salim will fight his father in battle. So be it. The build upto to the next track is certainly getting curioser and curioser.

Thanks for the update Radhika. I only watched last week's episodes. The moment i saw Anarkali's parent's entry last friday, couldn't take it. I just can't watch a fake love story taking over a real one just to titillate some viewers. They just fast-forwarded entire JA track to proceed to a stupid, unverified story (by all means just a myth)

The place was not Peshawar but near Lahore. :)Jahangir DID come to receive his mother. The facts are indeed true.!!!!. :)

At the time of death of his mother, Salim was not present in Agra.Few days before her death he was in Ajmer, and was busy in executing the plans and sending off generals for expedition to Gujarat and Multan.Actually, Salim was not present in Agra for long time, before her death, due to the political situation. This was the only reason.

Though, Jahangir notes the death of his mother, again with respect, addressing her as "Hazrat", and requesting the Almighty to lend peace to her soul..

We know that the term Hazrat is normally reserved for people held in great honor, and normally used to refer it to saints..

thanks Abhay about the Salim going all the way to get her back to agra... sound lovely and reassuring to me.About MUZ death though.. I don't know.. I still feel sad about this. We don't know if she died a sudden death or she was ailing . But Ajmer is not that far from agra. The death of your mother is enough reason to leave everything and rush back for her last rites. Compare that to Akbar's response. He too was preoccupied with Salim's rebellion when his mom was sick but he rushed back to agra to be by her side. I guess they were both moulded differently. I find it heart breaking that by then MUZ had lost her husband and 2 other sons. And still the one son she had did not perform her last rites. In our culture this just seems heartbreaking

Thanks Abhay, I too have no doubt about how much he respected her . LOL the negativity in the show is really affecting my common sense...I was fearing someone will come up with a late life conspiracy between Ruqs and Noor towards the end of MUZ life. Jokes apart thanks for all the valuable info. I need to stop being so emotional about MUZ .

i read somewhere that Akbar used to travel non stop without getting tired. That he once traveled from Ajmer to Agra in a day and a night! Is this true, Abhay? Sorry for going off topic here.

We cannot compare circumstances. I am sure Salim respected MUZ as much as Akbar respected his mother. But he may not have been in a position to reach her in time. In those days, I don't think they had the facilities to store a dead body and wait for people to come from far off places.

That time would be to stop a sati incident? Because that would have required speed before he was too late to do anything.

I do believe that Salim may have been deliberately informed late about his mother's death so that she could be buried and not cremated before he arrived. (Though this is debatable whether she was buried or cremated?) And also just out of animosity towards MUZ so that she could not meet her son before passing away. :(

Abhay and Radhika, although they may never be any evidence of this I suspect that the news may have well been withheld from Jehangir. He clearly supported her like his father did but I imagine there would have been plenty of clergy against her. Salim died only 4 yrs after her so he must not have been in the best of health or senses? I have a deep seated notion that MUZ last years were isolated and Lonely as the power of Nur Jehan (and Ruq and Nur got a long very well) were at its height then

It is quite possible that the news might have been kept away from him. But, let me mention that, "till the end" , Salim remained very close to his mother and many special royal festivals took place in her palace, which were attended by Salim as well, despite Ruqs and Nur Jahan going on very well. :)

At the time of death of his mother, Salim was not present in Agra.Few days before her death he was in Ajmer, and was busy in executing the plans and sending off generals for expedition to Gujarat and Multan.Actually, Salim was not present in Agra for long time, before her death, due to the political situation. This was the only reason.

Sad but , True, feeling Emotional, A princess, whose husband already left,she saw death of , infant kids, then Young , sons.Who married a King, when intercast marriage, person not thinks in dream, , but she did, for the sake of Amer,

But, last movements in life she was alone. (true reality ), Reason Any,Abhay, one ques, Is daughters present that time.

second ques, Akbar faced a life lot, or Jodha also. When a person faces a life lot, one staze comes, You deeatched, or feel alone. but this time, also becomes cause of soul, contactvity. if this is not the reason, both,Own connected to eachother soul point. or slowely slowely travelling, made both eachother soulmate.

if this ans is yes, please clear this point, just this thought came, how much understanding or sielance, works, between, both. both travelled outer or inner a lot.

Ayushi,MUZ can not be alone in her last time. The sons of Daniyal were alive. Along with this her daughter Aram Banu Begum was present that time. :)

Yes, after Akbar life must have changed a lot, for sure, but i would say her son loved her a LOT.!! And after her death, his health also rapidly decayed.!!! I would say, she lead a nice life till her end. :)

Quite interesting discussion regarding MUZ n Salim....i have a question for u Abhay actual reigning power of noor is around 1620s as per my knowledge last years of MUZ then how ruqs will show her dominance even she is at her old age right... ..Is she that mean???Abhay as u said Ruks is not mentioned in any of chronicle wht abt Shahjahan why didnt he mention about her?? as i read shahj didnt like noor is it true???Is Noor respected MUZ????? Can u say something abt their relation..Is it true noor made salim addicted?????? Sorry to bother u actually this questions r bothering...

Hi Lakshmi,1. Nur was powerful before 1620 also, but the "real power" she got was around 1622-23 when Jahangir was confined to bed, literally & MUZ was at her last.2. Yes, initially Shah Jahan and Nur got along well, but later he developed strong disliking for her, as she was a trouble for him in getting the throne. Nur wanted to retain the power.3. Ruqaiya is not mentioned in chronicles of Akbar era. About Shah Jahan's era i have not found much mention of her. Still reading. Will post when i finish reading.

4. Acc. to European travellers, Nur and her brother, took advantage of Salim's addiction. :-P5. MUZ being the Queen Mother of reigning king, had no problems of any type when it came to "power".

6. Nur n MUZ's equation will be cleared when i post on Khusrau Part-2 post. :)

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